The inspirations and origins for our stories.
Jordan Chase-Young’s story “Shards” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 17 July 2020. I’ve always suspected that magic, if it existed, would be a profound threat to human survival. It would empower tyrants, create lasting fault lines between groups, and permit destruction on a vast scale. But magic would also afford great opportunities. It would cut down on drudgery, make life more interesting, and in the right hands allow for great progress. “Which of the …
R.W.W. Greene’s story “They Build ‘Em Tough on Magna Mater” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 10 July 2020. I guess this story has its origins in the Kevin Bacon movie “Footloose”. There’s an awesome/ridiculous scene wherein Ren (Kevin Bacon) and the Jerk Guy are playing chicken on tractors. I won’t tell you how the tractor duel came out, but I took this scene into the context of my own semi-rural upbringing and came up …
Ashley R. Carlson’s story “The Friendly Ghost” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 3 July 2020. The inspiration for my story about a deceased wife who “haunts” her husband and strives to help him discover fulfillment and happiness after her death came from a similar conversation in my own relationship. My partner also worked far from home at the time, and in a field that had risks. While we didn’t talk often about something happening, …
Joseph Halden’s story “Time and Grace” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 26 June 2020. I’m always interested in our relationship with technology, and the specific ways it influences our connections to each other. The specific idea for this story, however, was planted when I was travelling for work, in a new rental vehicle every time. It was a lonely period of my life. I was in grad school and commuting to different experiments, in …
Kathryn Yelinek’s story “The Woman Who Brought Love to Death” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 19 June 2020. I’ve had the image of a woman who could see love in my head for years, but I couldn’t find the right story for the character. I tried everything—romance, murder mystery, you name it. But none of the stories worked. A few were downright embarrassing, now that I look back on them. Still, I kept coming …
Jennifer Shelby’s story “Zsezzyn, Who Is Not a God” was published in Metaphorosis on Friday, 12 June 2020. My toddler has a toy turtle which lights up and projects stars onto the ceiling. Like most kids her age, she’s nervous of the dark and often turns it on when I’m putting her to bed. One night I blocked out several of the stars with my hand and she started to cry. As I tried to …
